Educational Philosophy

When I first took the Educational Philosophies- Self Assessment I was a little confused as to how the scoring worked. Not sure if anyone else encountered that problem? I believe I figured it out eventually and the category or educational philosophy I was indicated to be in was humanism. This makes sense for me because after reading about it I found myself agreeing with a lot of the text. Becoming the best one can be is a very important part of learning and growing up. Everyone is different and will achieve different goals and levels of what they see as best. I believe students should have a choice in how they learn and some particular things they learn about. It's their life and their choices. If they don't get to choose certain things then learning won't be fun and some students may not learn at all. If students are given more choices this helps set them up for when they grow older, become independent, and live on their own. I also believe the mood of the student that day can change how well they are learning. If someone's having a bad day or is uncomfortable in a classroom they're not going to spend too much time learning. They will spend more time looking at the clock and thinking about when they can finally leave. I do believe that most tests, like standardized multiple choice tests do not help students too much. They just teach students to memorize information while studying and then forget it as soon as the test or school year is over. Multiple choice exams also don't help students learn because they can take a guess and pick any one of the answers. They may get the answer right but not have even known that was correct. I think the whole thing about incorporating an outdoor environment into the lesson is a great idea. Kids don't want to sit inside at their desks all day. Taking them outside for fresh air and new learning experiences would be refreshing. This all shows what I would be like as a future teacher. I want my students to be comfortable with their environment and I want my classroom to kind of be like a judge-free environment.
I think it's possible that the results could be in accurate "in picking up my true philosophy of education," but to me it seems like the test did a pretty good job. I think this is the most accurate out of all the categories I could have been put in.

http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP1.html

IDEA and UDL

In this blog post I will be addressing IDEA and UDL.  
As a teacher, it's your job to make sure all students in your classroom are learning and understanding the material. With so many different students with different ways of learning we have to figure out a way to meet all their needs. 
What is IDEA?
IDEA is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The law provides services to students with disabilities. IDEA provides services for children age three, up to twenty-one. Early intervention services are also usually provided for children from birth up to age 2. UDL is mentioned and defined in this act. 
What is UDL?
UDL stands for Universal Design for Learning. UDL is a set of standards for curriculum that helps teachers develop lesson plans that include all students and their individual learning differences. To quote udlcenter.org, it includes four parts, and "provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs."

Universal Design for Learning is very important because every student is different. Students may excel in one subject but need more help in another one. Some students have disabilities and need aids and other things to meet their needs. UDL helps make it easier for students to learn and provides many different ways of taking in information and completing assignments.
There was a program I read about developed by Scholastic Inc, called WiggleWorks. WiggleWorks were a set of books that incorporated UDL standards. The books were accessible to every child, even children with disabilities. To go in depth, the website said "Students with physical disabilities can turn pages and access controls with the touch of a key or a switch attached to the computer. Students with visual impairments can select large text with high contrast or opt to hear the text read aloud, navigating the program through buttons that "speak" their functions." (cast.org,ch4,pg2)
I thought this was a great example of UDL being put into action. Creating technology and other resources that all students can use is what UDL is all about. 

I am currently taking a Principles and Fundamentals of Special Education class in addition to this one. During our previous lesson the teacher had one student stand up and try to open one of the doors without using her hands. The first doorknob she tried was round and needed to be gripped with fingers and turned to be opened. The student had trouble with this door. The next door was simple a handle that had to be pushed down to get the door to open. Though this focuses more on the architecture of the building than the curriculum, I believe it still goes along with inclusion, and the goal of UDL to incorporate all students needs in the classroom. Something as simple as the design of a doorknob can help make a students life that much easier. 

http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl
http://idea.ed.gov/
http://www.cast.org/udl/

Incorporating culture into the classroom

It is important for teachers to create a culturally responsive classroom because it provides students with an understanding of different backgrounds and also respect for all people. We all share this Earth, and we should all be respectful towards each other. Teachers often have no previous knowledge of other cultures or how to incorporate learning about them into their lesson plan. All students are different, and each student learns in a different way. By having programs and lessons like these, teachers are able to learn about their students differences, learning styles, etc. Getting to know each and every student well is the first step. The children you work with are more than just names on a list. Your goal is to make sure they understand everything you teach them, but to do that you have to learn about them and understand how they learn. There was a quote I read in one of our readings that I found very important:
"[I]n the words of a wonderful Native Alaskan educator: ‘In order to teach you, I must know you.’ I pray for all of us the strength to teach our children what they must learn, and the humility and wisdom to learn
from them so that we might better teach."
—Lisa Delpit (1995, p. 183)
The Native Alaskan educator speaks nothing but the truth. You can't really do a good job at teaching someone something if you don't know anything about them. When I was researching this topic I came across two articles that stood out. Both are guides on how to create a culturally responsive classroom.
http://elearndesign.org/teachspecialed/modules/ocada7083_norm2/23/24_2/xmedia/reading_c8m3L2a2.pdf
http://blog.nationalequityproject.org/2012/08/22/5-ways-to-create-a-culturally-responsive-classroom/
Both articles highlight the importance of getting to know your students well, but one also mentions getting to know yourself well. You sit down and give yourself a "diversity assessment." This helps you better understand what you already know about other cultures, what you think diversity is, what experiences you've had in the past, and what is going on in terms of diversity in your classroom. It is also important to know about your own culture and how that affects you and others. Knowing all this can better help you learn about others. After you've done that you should incorporate cultures into your lessons, encourage students to help out and care for one another, make new students feel very welcome, and use what you have learned about your students to create interactive lessons that involve them more.

Does art education benefit at-risk youth?

Numerous studies show that children and teens who are at-risk can benefit greatly from varying types of art programs. At-risk kids ar