Rachael+Thieleman

My name is Rachael Thieleman. I am a History major with a Political Science minor. I am from Linden, Michigan and grew up on a dairy farm. I have four sisters and have been married since June of 2010. I love to read, crochet, and go to football games.

 PGDP Semester 2 Lesson Plans:

Differentiated Lesson Plan Lesson Plans for Spring Semester

PGDP Takeways

Lesson Plans for PGDP:   

 REFLECTIONS ON TEACHING PROMPTS

__**Assignment 12** 11/29/2011: __ In the test my top three were Musical, Self, and Language, all with scores of 4 or above. I would say that this describes me pretty well. I focus better with music and when I was in fifth grade I realized that if I played one song while studying for spelling and then hummed that song in my head during the test I would remember the words better. I would say that self describes me very well in that I tend to be an introvert and like working on my own projects. I think language also describes me because I like telling stories and a good book is great motivation.
 * After taking the test, determine how well it fits you and if you think it is helpful in understanding how you learn.**

I don’t think this test has told me anything that I didn’t already know. Granted, I may not have had the words to put to it, but I knew how I best studied and where my interests lay. I think this would be useful for students to take, especially in middle school so that they could figure out the best way they learn which may help some do better in school.

__**Assignment 11** 11/16/2011:__

Question asked of correspondent: How do you get to know your students and also what limits do you put on your relationships with students?

I start the year by giving my students a survey that tells me a little about themselves. As the year continues, I get to know my students more by just being myself and treating them like adults. I do, however, put a very clear line for them about me being their teacher and NOT THEIR FRIEND. My number one priority is helping them learn math. If a conversation starts to take my students away from that, I draw the line and tell them to bring it back in. I have had the trouble a couple of times of students either having a crush on me or making inappropriate comments. I make a very explicit statement at those times that makes it ABSOLUTELY clear that it is NOT appropriate and that I will contact home. "The idea of being romantically involved with a students makes me want to puke profusely", I say. I also make sure that their behavior would be considered respectful by any well-educated adult. Although I might not mind personally if they cuss, or joke back - I make sure that I stop them because I do not want them to get into a habit that may get them into trouble in the future. I want to make sure they have every opportunity possible and I refuse to do them the disservice to allow them to believe that some of their more irresponsible behaviors are acceptable in a higher-level academic environment. This is a hard one for me to respond to without you just visiting my classroom, so let me know if you have any questions.

__**Assignment 10** 11/09/2011:__ Anything you remember, or want to ask about our visit with Ben at Haslett Middle.

I thought that Haslett Middle School was very nice, an atmosphere that creates pride in students. I thought it admirable that the principle focuses so hard on finding the best teachers and doesn’t care how much they will cost but it made me wonder, why can Haslett afford to do that and schools in downtown Lansing either can’t or don’t choose to? I remember Ben introducing the concept of Reform to his students. I thought he spent a lot of time going over this one word and wondered how important this one word was to teaching the constitutional convention. I know that Ben said teaching less is more but can that be the case too much of the time? Does doing less portray that you expect less of your students?

__**Assignment 9** 11/02/2011:__

**Reflection: Describe crucial (memorable) aspects of the hidden and null curricula that you experienced in secondary school. (ie what did you learn from school that was not academic, or what did you understand to be important or not important based on what you were taught or were not taught)**

Hidden: Forming lines, punctuality, that bells dictate end of learning, Classic literature is “homework”, there is a certain way to dress, learning should be rewarded, girls don’t play football, there is always an authority figure which must be obeyed, bad behavior is punished.

Null: White point of view correct, Foreign point of view ignorant, Wars beside the Revolution, Civil War, and WWI, WWII, Vietnam, Korean, and Cold War are not important, Languages beside French and Spanish not necessary, Germans should be remembered as aggressors in the World Wars.

__**Assignment 8** 10/26/2011:__

**A)What surprised you most about this reading?** I was surprised that this type of reading was assigned for a TE class. With such a strong focus on literature involving the importance of diversity, I was not expecting the racist content to be assigned. I was also surprised why Social Studies came into existence. People always talk about the need to make good citizens and make sure everyone is familiar with democracy but in reality, at the beginning the only concern was whether minorities could be good democratic citizens. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> (**B) What would you argue were the strongest influences on how social studies began?** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">I believe that the strongest influence on how social studies began was a fear that minorities would be unable to function in a workforce as responsible, democratic citizens. I also believe that this concern with having “too tough” of a curriculum impacted on what social studies entailed. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**(C)In what ways might the foundations of social studies impact what we do or don’t do today? (reference the last full paragraph on pg 91 as well as the one that follows it)**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">I believe that the foundations of social studies might make teachers try to repress the original meanings behind social studies creation. I do believe though that teachers should use this to refrain from having a bias on what a minority student can and can’t remember. Teachers shouldn’t assume that because a student is a minority that they should be expected to learn less. Teachers should expect all students to excel but sadly, many inner city teachers expect less from their students and perhaps this is from an initial belief back then that minorities couldn’t perform as well.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">__**Assignment 7** 10/19/2011:__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">How will you teach about Columbus after our discussion the other day? Why?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">I would teach Columbus Day for what it is, the day that Columbus and his crew discovered the island of Hispaniola. The discovery of this island eventually led to the rest of the Americas being discovered. I would certainly teach of the consequences of this event and try and give the perspective of the Natives on the island. However, I would not underscore the significance of Columbus’ efforts: his voyage helped lead to colonization of the New World and eventually the creation of the United States as we know it today. I think to focus solely on the positives or the negatives is not true history, it is one sided and it will lead to incorrect or incomplete understandings about the past.

**Teacher Response:** **Question:** **What types of assessments do you use and why?** In response to your question, I'm assuming you mean the broad definition of the word "assessment". I would have to say that I constantly assess my students. Formally, I use their tests (summative assessments) and homework (formative assessments) to monitor their progress. These are more for record keeping and impact their grade. Now, in all fairness, my school has purchased a program called Accelerated Math that scores homework for me and gives me all of the data. This is much different than most schools, which would require me to grade homework by hand. This way, more of my time is spent assessing what math objectives students are stuck on and those they may need extra help with instead of collecting data. I also love this because students get immediate feedback and can learn from their mistakes, instead of just throwing away their graded work like many students. Again, this is formative, as I monitor their progress towards mastery of the objectives. Now, when it comes to designing summative assessments, I always turn to the common core standards and the math objectives outlined in both my textbook and the accelerated math program. I prefer to have this test created before I even start the chapter. This way, everything is much better aligned for students and there is a clear end game for the chapter. Now, this doesn't always happen as often as I like, so I also assess students informally. This is usually done with a class scan of 'thumbs up' or thumbs down' after students attempt a practice problem on their own. I also walk around and informally assess students in their progress. For this, I don't really keep records like I would like to. These are things that I normally do to inform my day-to-day instruction. I'm hoping that some day I find a way for me to quantify my observations better and put them in to a format that is useful to me. I have thought about using clickers, but I feel like I need to master a few more things before I take on a new project. I know that 50% of teachers burn out in the first 3 years and I want to make sure that I'm able to be in this for the long-run. Above all, I focus on the standards. From these standards I create my content objectives, and from my content objectives I create the questions for my assessments. It is helpful to break it down into smaller objectives, since state math standards are nowhere near as specific as they need to be to truly guide teacher instruction. So, to kinda summarize I constantly assess my students in as many ways as possible. Good assessments are ones that align with the state standards and give students descriptive feedback as quickly as possible. I hope that's helpful. Research with respect to assessments is a very hot field, especially with so many high-stakes tests. I try to model my assessments after those tests in order to help prepare students better, but who knows - maybe legislators will finally decide that one-size-fits-all assessments are not a good measure of a student's knowledge.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">__**Assignment 6** 10/12/2011:__ **How do you feel about the process of creating a professional growth and development plan? Do you think this is a useful task? Would it have usability in a middle school or high school classroom?**

I think that although a personal professional growth and development plan is useful, I believe that attributing a grade/assignment makes the goal less personal and seem more like it is being done for homework. I believe it could be a useful task if implemented correctly. When I was in high school my US history teacher had us write ourselves a letter with out personal goals for the year/course and at the end of the semester we each received our letters and got to see how we were progressing, and then we could get them at the end of the year to keep to see how well we did accomplishing the goals. I thought that making it personal made the students more accountable to themselves and taught self-motivation. Personally, it made me want to complete the goals for myself, not for the sake of a grade or because of the teacher. I think you could use professional growth and development plan in middle school but the title should be changed to “Goals for the Year” or something that seems a little more student friendly so that the students adopt the goals for themselves and don’t think it’s the teacher’s idea.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">__**Assignment 5** 10/05/2011:__


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Reflection: Respond to the Sir Ken Robinson video. How does this change your understanding of the harm that Phyllis talked about? Do you agree with Robinson? How as social studies teachers can we foster the creativity Robinson is describing? What other thoughts do you have? **

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">I have thought for a long time that the way schools function now kills creativity. When you focus on standardized tests, you mean to produce one kind of student. I thought it was interesting that he said the education system today tries to make everyone into professors. I do not necessarily disagree with it but I do feel like every student in K-12 is being prepared to go for college, which isn’t always the best choice for every student. As social studies teacher we can foster creativity by letting kids move around, and have them do different types of projects, depending on how they best learn. I suppose the best way to foster creativity in the room is to not kill it. Don’t punish a kid for presenting his knowledge in a way that is different. If a student wants to draw a picture, make a music video, or etc. to show that they have learned the material, let them. Not to say that you shouldn’t help these students be able to learn as society deems best, but let them keep their creativity. I believe that the education system should be changed but until that happens I can only hope to help kids keep their creativity and do my best not to kill it.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">__**Assignment 4** 09/28/2011:__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">My contact teacher is a 2nd year teacher who graduated from Michigan State and is currently teaching Math.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Question 1: Look back on your final year prior to your student teaching. What are you glad you learned prior to getting in a classroom and what do you wish you would've learned? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Glad <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- New advances in education pedagogy <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- Different ways to use technology in the classroom <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- Information about 'controversial' issues in education such as tracking, calculator use, etc <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- How diversity impacts the classroom - getting an overkill of the info made met feel like an expert and that was very nice. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- Research in the field of mathematical education <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- How to help students one-on-one through my tutoring experiences at the MLC and service learning

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wish <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- More on classroom management <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- More information on how to meet the needs of English Language Learners <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- Techniques to provide scaffolding for students who have gaps

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Question 2: How do you develop a unit plan and how do you determine what is important to teach? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The common core standards and ACT standards (college board) are the most important thing that guides my planning. I also use the documents provided by the school, district, and textbook companies to make educated decisions about what to include - these are also guided by the common core standards. Many of the district documents are created by people whose job is to align district curriculum with the common core standards, so they serve as a good template. Luckily, many schools incorporate common planning so this work is shared between the teachers and goes through an intense review process. When teaching a curriculum for the first time, I teach it with the full integrity (as it is suggested) and plan to make changes the following year if I find that things should be cut or added to benefit the students and better meet the standards.

__**Assignment 3** 09/21/2011:__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">** (A) ** ** What has been most difficult in planning this unit so far? **

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">I would say that the most difficult thing in planning this unit so far is limiting what needs to be covered. There is so much to cover and to cut it down to one unit and 10 days seems to not do the subject justice. I think that this is how I will always feel when doing a unit though. I think another difficult thing has been not to get to far ahead. I tend to start with how I want to evaluate the students and I’m not sure if I should focus more on the content before trying to get the specifics of the unit down.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">** (B) Do you think units should be planned chronologically? Around a theme? Through enduring understandings? A combination? Why? **

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">I believe that units should be based around a theme but chronologically as well. By doing a theme, I feel that students will have something to focus on. For the unit on the Middle East, I could make it based on a theme (let’s say conflict) and do it chronologically in order to make sure students understand the impact conflict has had on the Middle East. This way, as I teach students they know to focus on the importance of conflict and not feel overwhelmed that they have to remember all about the Middle East. With structure, I feel like students will have a focus and with it being chronologically, students will have a framework in order to learn by.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">__**Assignment 2** 09/12/2011:__

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**(A) Keeping in mind that there are many models of good teaching, describe some attributes or characteristics that good teachers possess.** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I believe that a teacher needs to have passion. Passion is different from excitement. Excitement is a temporary, fleeting interest. As a teacher, there needs to be true passion for the subject as well as passion for teaching others the subject. I also think a teacher needs to be responsible. A child’s future interest in the subject as well as academic success may be affected adversely or positively by how we teach. Good teachers should also be approachable and flexible. A student should never fear to ask a question or to seek understanding of something. Finally, a good teacher should have a hard work ethic, a sense of detachment (to a certain extent in the fact that no individual student should be favored), and be reliable.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**(B) Reflect on your own strengths and weaknesses as a teacher at this point, what are some areas you are strong in? Where do you have room for improvement?** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Strengths: I would say that I don’t let a first impression negatively impact my belief about a student. I am also a perfectionist and work hard until something is finished. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Weaknesses: I have a hard time connecting with students because I fear being seen as the “friend” or “buddy.” I hope it will be different once I teach in my own classroom and I have the authority of the position and the school behind me. However, as a student myself, I find it hard to feel like an authority figure. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Room for Improvement: Gaining confidence in front of a classroom full of students.

**<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(C)What are some things you need to learn or skills you need to practice to improve your teaching? ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I think I need to actually feel like a teacher and be in a normal classroom and gain confidence. I have been in an ESL classroom and an Alternative classroom, but I have never been placed in a “typical” classroom. I think that by talking to my placement teacher and figuring out what authority I have in the classroom and to have what is expected of me laid out, I could gain confidence instead of always wondering my role in the classroom. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I also need to work on public speaking and being calm and collected when trying to talk in front of a large group of students. Talking up in class and making sure that I rehearse what I want to say will help me gain the confidence I need.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">__**Assignment 1** 09/07/2011:__

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**A) Describe and post your favorite memory from a social studies class from middle/junior/senior high school:**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It’s hard to pinpoint my favorite memory from a Social Studies class but I would have to say it was in 6th grade. We did a segment on different cultures and instead of just reading it, our teacher tried to have us experience it. A volunteer parent came in and dressed up as a shaman and read our “fortunes” and we tasted foods from other cultures (like Greek Cheese-Cake). I began to like Social Studies for the first time and to no longer think of it as the “boring class”. We also learned history from other points of view. Instead of the “Pilgrims came and Indians gave them corn and they all became good friends” point of view, I learned about disease, and cruelties that occurred. Not to say that this is what made me love history instantly but it made me think about how there are so many different points of view in history and to only learn (or teach) one is to only give half of the information. Every history class after that I thought about “what point of view is being left out?” This questioning made it more exciting.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**(B) Describe and post your worst memory or experience from a social studies class from middle/junior/senior high school:**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My worst memory/experience from a Social Studies class was from my AP Government class during my senior year. I took this class for the AP credit potential and the boost I would get in my GPA. I had already taken government so while most of it was review, I enjoyed the topic enough that I thought I would enjoy it. Every week the assignment was the same. Read an entire chapter and turn in a detailed summary of that chapter (Summaries were anywhere from 10-15 pages long). Each test was cumulative – meaning that the third test in the class contained everything from the beginning. Which was fine except for the questions asked: “Where was President Bush in 2006 on the picture on page 158?” This question was similar to a question from my final test which tested the entire book. On these tests the highest grade was in the high 60% and low 70%. Considering this was a class with most of the top ten, I think that demonstrates the absurdity of the questions. Anyways, as the semester progressed, I no longer was interested in learning the material for enjoyment; I did enough to get by. I read the chapters and studied the captions and frankly, it was terrible. I lost my enjoyment in government and decided to pursue a Business major in college where only the previous summer I had thought about majoring in Politics. It took over a year to realize that it was only a dislike of that class, not the subject.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**C) Describe and post your rationale for why you want to teach social studies and what particular reasons you find compelling for having students study and learn social studies in schools:**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Social Studies is often overlooked as being the “easy subject” the “Football Coach” position, where dates, names, and events are all that’s needed, or even learned. It’s so much more than that and to truly teach social studies is to be passionate about it so that students can learn to appreciate it for the rich subject that it is. I want to teach Social Studies because I love the subject and I love learning. There is always more to learn in social studies. New history or new points of view can be read, analyzed, and give a different perspective on the past events. Even things such as propaganda, or hate commercials can be used to analyze and fully understand the mindset of the creators and the audience. Politics need to be understood so that everyone can understand and become accountable for the policies passed today. Social Studies is such a broad topic that impacts people’s lives daily. It is so unique in the thought that it’s everywhere. I don’t use Calculus from high school or write book reports on American classics. I pick up a newspaper though and see how Social Studies interact with the world today. Students need to learn Social Studies, to not only become responsible citizens and active in today’s government, something which seems to become less evident with today’s generation, but to truly appreciate the present. Although some would say that you need to learn history so you don’t repeat it, I feel that you need to learn history so you can appreciate how far everything has come. To think back to how life was lived 100, 200, or even only 50 years ago and see how much has changed, both socially and politically, is to fully appreciate where you are today. I want to teach social studies because I think that everyone should learn this in an engaging manner. Not in a “sit straight, listen” manner but in one that will allow students to enjoy the material enough that, although they may not major it or study it later, they will always remember it and become active in the community and appreciate how far things have come.