Rooom aragement

1. Use a room arrangement consistent with your instructional goals and activities.
This room to the left is the way that teacher A has his room set up and it is very consistent with his instructional goals because he chooses not to have group discussions or group work ever. He uses the desks and the tables for students that need to plug in their lap tops.
2. Keep high traffic areas free of congestion.
In teacher A's design traffic does become a problem because if there are more then one student movie around in the room one has to step back and wait for the other. It is very difficult to get from one desk in the corner to the opposite one in a short amount of time due to the distance, and bothering students because of the commotion.

3. Be sure students are easily seen by the teacher.
Although teacher A has his desk setup in the back of the room and when he sits there he can see all desks and lap top screens he is unable to see the other students if he is working one on one with a student. This makes it very easy for students to get off topic.

4. Keep frequently used teaching materials and student supplies readily accessible.
In teacher A's room they use mostly laptops because he does not have enough materials for the entire class. The problem here is if a student does not have his la top because they would have to partner up with another student and the room setup is just not suitable for that. the student has to sit in between seats in the way and not comfortable.

5. Be certain students can easily see instructional presentations and displays.
Teacher A can accommodate to any students and if certain students need to sit somewhere so they are able to learn better they can and there is no issue with his seating arrangement with that. Where the problem would arise would be if there were multiple students that were having trouble seeing the presentations because there is only so much room to have students sitting very close to the front.


1. Use a room arrangement consistent with your instructional goals and activities.
I designed the room to the right and this is consistent with my instructional goals and activities because in my lessons I choose to have class discussions everyday and work with partners and groups. Not only is this setup easy to have whole discussions but it is easy to move desks to make small groups.

2. Keep high traffic areas free of congestion.
There should not be any traffic issues because the classroom is so open and students will not be getting in the way of each other. It is a lot easier for my to move around as well.

3. Be sure students are easily seen by the teacher.
I decided that keeping the teachers desk in the back of the room was still suitable for this classroom. I would still be able to see all students and there is still room for me to walk around the back of the seats during discussions so I can see laptop screens.

4. Keep frequently used teaching materials and student supplies readily accessible.
I would still be having the same problems that teacher A has. (Refer to question 4 above in picture 1)

5. Be certain students can easily see instructional presentations and displays.
There will no seats in front of other seats so that can help students see the presentations better and for students that need to be close to the front of the classroom could be able to sit in the seats that are closer to the open side.

My MEL experiences

• Student /Teacher relationships: The best example I have for a great student and teacher relationship is from my 7th & 8th great english teacher, Ms. Henry. She was great in trying to get to know all of her students individually and making her room a comfort zone. I can not remember a time when she was not positive with any student. She understood the drama that is middle school and established a great life line for students to talk to her when they were feeling down or confused. Another great trait of hers was having a sense of humor and making all of our projects FUN! She was always starting new clubs and getting people involved with each other that may not have done so on their own.
• Helping Students Succeed: The figure states that having high expectations will help students succeed and i could not agree more. My high school history teacher Mrs. Luce always pushed us and set the standards high. This was not because she thought that we would all fail but she wanted us to work hard, learn and feel good about ourselves when all is said and done. Another great example is from my Algebra 2 teacher Mr. Langivine was always trying to keep my spirits up with math. I am not a great math student, and have a hard time learning by coping notes so he would meet with me one-on-one. I would get discouraged but he would constantly tell me that having a good attitude can only help my and my learning.
• Hands-On: Doing hands-on activities is a great way for many students to learn as I read in the article, it is more engaging and exciting for students. I had a lot of opportunities for hands on learning when I was in high school. This occurred a lot in my chemistry class with Ms. Merril (LOL). Due to the nature of the subject it is important to have many activities so that we can see with our own eyes how science is working. What she did above and beyond was having us changing lab partners for each activity and having extra credit things to do at home to make students understand even more!
• Learning Styles: This was something that we covered in great detail in Dr. Grace's class today. This is such a strong aspect that needs to be known in all classrooms but the sad part is that it was not practiced much in my high school. Just giving out standardized tests over and over again shows nothing and students gain almost nothing. This happened a lot in my middle school years. I am not a strong test taker but I know from my best friend that this was an awful approach to education. She is extremely smart but when it comes to tests she becomes fearful. Her mind goes blank and she forgets what she had studied the night before!
• Connections: This is very important! I believe that if teachers can connect what they are teaching to something in their lives that has happened it is going to take away the excuse "when will I ever use this in my life" that seems to come from many students (including myself!) Fortunately I just had an example of great connections during Dr. Grace's class. She is able to recall times in her career and schooling that puts a real life situation to everything that we are learning.

Chapter 2: Respect, Liking, Trust, and Fairness

On page 22 in chapter 2 the part that jumped out at me was "If teachers don't like students, the students can also tell, and it affects their learning". It is going to be difficult for a teacher to like all the students that they have in their classes, but a teacher is in the wrong for letting that show in front of other students or through grades. One example in the book is "My friend said one little thing, and now that's the end of her. The teacher wrote her off, so she has a 65 now and I have a 90 and we have done nothing different"(22).

I have seen this a lot in my high school. There were many teachers that had children going to the same school and if their kids did not like someone or if it was a past boyfriend or girlfriend it would reflect in their grades. I am embarrassed for these teachers and the unprofessional approach they took to teaching. This is going to greatly impact my teaching because I will always try to remember that students are KIDS and do not always make the right choices but they should not be punished on their homework or class participation if it does not involve that. Teachers are teaching high school not attending it!

Chapter 1: Knowing Students Well

The part of this chapter that JUMPED out at me was the "Who are you? A Questionnaire for Students on the First Day of School" starting on page 9. The author is focusing on the confidentiality that needs to happen between students and teachers, unless a student is going to harm themselves or others. Showing the questionnaire as it would look for students is a great tool that we can all use in the future! By having this information the teacher is able to deal with different situations with out involving more people then need be.

The reason that I chose this part of the chapter was for a special reason. I had to fill things like this out all the time and it is really nothing new to see this as an approach for teachers. What is so different about this questionnaire is the question on the first page (9) "Who would you like me to tell when you do something especially well?" This jumped out at me because rather then starting the year off with a negative question such as "disciplinary contact number" the author shows the students the excitement and trust in their upcoming year and assignments! This is such an awesome idea!! If I were a student taking this quiz I would feel very conformable around the new teacher! :)

Learning Style Inventory Results

Learning Style Survey and results from learning-styles-online.com

This graph is SO accurate! I am a very social and also very physical. I prefer working in groups and my weakest subjects involve logical thinking such as math, and all of this is shown greatly on this graph.