An Educultural Approach to Classroom Management - Annotated Bibliography Example

ARTICLES Funding mechanisms . http www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_funding.html This article shows the process of encouraging positive growth and development in students is framed in terms of funding organization by the teacher’s and school system’s ideals in that it is a clearly-defined goal to provide an atmosphere where everyone benefits through education, where all children can learn socially and cognitively in an environment that encourages their curiosity and creativity. In this atmosphere, according to the author, services that are needed by the student are made available to them, the student is part of a caring and supportive environment, teachers are able to help the students and assist, and problems are able to be solved proactively. The author primarily focuses on funding. The article also shows how communication is very important to the teaming process: teachers must work together and with professionals and para-professional staff members to find the best way of working with students in the educational program, to optimize how time is spent with them productively.  “New York has also implemented a sunset provision for Public Excess Cost Aid, reducing the 1.7 weighting scale to 1.68 in 2000-2001 and then to 1.65 in 2001-2002,[15] at which time the legislature will propose further modifications based upon the Commissioner of Educations report on the effects of the funding revisions” (Funding, 2010). The author also points out that using property taxes for funding is common in many US states. However, this system may be unfair, because it guarantees that rich areas will have better schools than poor areas, based on property tax rates. Aldridge, J (2009). SPECIAL EDUCATION: A Service, Not a Sentence Childhood Education. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3614/is_200802/ This author deals with special education inclusion programs, coming from a social learning perspective. Social learning theory states that a lot of the development in students comes from watching others and patterning their behavior in this way. This is why it is important in this author’s estimation that teachers who are in a classroom situation in which they are teaching students with disabilities and learning disorders make sure to keep in mind that they are not only there to help the students academically, but also socially and in terms of interpersonal skills. This is the main facet of many inclusion programs that are currently in effect in the educational system. Also, the author notes that in this context, if students see another peer being praised or rewarded, they will try to emulate the behavior that this student is engaging in. So teachers must also include this. Within the inclusion program, teachers must agree about the theory behind the practice, and therefore meet in teams and discuss challenges and what theories are being applied. For example, constructivism theories give more power to the student in terms of them choosing what they want to learn and understand. Therefore the environment becomes more important and must be challenging and rewarding for the student. Students can develop socially by solving problems that are only generally defined and also by working on critical thinking skills as well as social skills. The author supports, “The students right to be in the general education classroom, 2) how to reintegrate students into the regular classroom, 3) ways that teachers can serve and support all learners, and 4) how children with special needs can have the best of both worlds” (Aldrigde, 2009). MacFarlane, A (2010). An educultural approach to classroom management: Integrating body, mind and heart. New Zealand Physical Educator  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7673/is_201002/ai_n53927275/ This author deals with classroom management from an open systems, multicultural perspective that respects diversity. Overall the author shows that sustaining a culture of critical reflection in the classroom is an appropriate recognition of diversity and openness in the organizational environment. They want to be part of an organization with a shared vision of cultural diversity, in its training and educational programs, and its overall organizational culture and operations. The author also thinks that it is important to seek alternatives to the conventional organizational approach by proposing new ways in which to integrate all rather than, unintentionally or not, dividing them along lines of interest. MacFarlane proposes that workers in an organization, if a culture of critical reflection is to be maintained, should feel free to explore the relationships of what they are learning in the organization and daily life, with or without explicit concept explanation (general or thematic topics may be given), and as an extension of more conventional methods as well as an encouragement of their individuality. The author is satisfied with the choice of teaching and educational work as a profession because it is philosophically amenable, and this philosophy, aside from guiding them on the correct career path, also reflects on their writing methodology. “The 2009 PENZ conference promoted the notion that developing this knowledge and understanding might be summed up by way of its conference theme, Thinking Bodies - Moving minds” (MacFarlane, 2010). This article covered the conference generally, and gave rise to the ideas above. Anderson, J (2009). New ADHD society debuts. Pediatric News. AD/HD is a serious problem in many schools. Because this type of student is a general category and there is actually a lot of diversity within special needs, the intervention needs to be made more specific. Of course, knowing a setting and area of specialty wouldn’t hurt either, in terms of knowing how to plan and what to plan for without being impossibly general. In any case, one special needs population that seems to be on the rise today is the student with AD/HD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The intervention is based on the plan that students with AD/HD can be included into normal class activities by focusing on their needs, but not at the expense of the rest of the class. That is, if this kind of student has special needs that dictate that they need multiple tasks to keep them interested and keep their attention, the rest of the class doesn’t have to be compromised. Therefore, the intervention is basically a form of anti-labeling exercise, in which the student with AD/HD is treated the same as any other student. The idea is, if the expectations are the same, then the performance is also going to be the same. Labeling can be a problem for special needs students and teachers because if a teacher labels a student as being a certain way the student might become that way because they are fulfilling the teacher’s prophecy. The society proposed in this article will act to advocate for greater understanding of AD/HD in today’s classrooms. “The society expects to fund the majority of its activities from journal subscriptions, advertising, and membership dues, and it will accept industry support for independent continuing medical education” (Anderson, 2009). Teachers also need to be trained as to how to deal with these students. Hook, E (2010). ESL students: learning through talking. Practically Primary. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6953/is_2_15/ai_n54035432/ This student deals with ESL students, or English as a Second Language students. This concept is especially important from an administrative as well as teaching standpoint because the schools with the best programs to teach to ELL produce students who are therefore able to perform academic tasks, since they have been taught these tasks during a period in which this researcher posits the existence of a cognitive window of accelerated learning potential. This is a method that is associated with support of the ESL learning environment in which sociocultural impact is highlighted by the inclusion of programs to reach certain students whether they are bilingual or English tutoring programs. This time of the students is often considered the most important so it is also important to check and make sure that all teachers are qualified. Hook also looks at the importance of a sociocultural perspective. From this perspective, learning strategy is best summed up as a method that seeks to teach minority and economically disadvantaged students exclusively in their native tongue in some subjects, in order to round out their knowledge in these subjects while they learn English and math as well, so that they are not left behind when it comes to specific mathematical standards that are expected at certain points in their academic career. From this perspective, the tendency is in favor of a full-native-language program that is designed to ease the student into a reliance on subject matter over language skills. “Returning to an ESL teaching role in 2008, I decided to use research, reflection and self questioning to improve my practice and discover ways to align literacy instruction with current pedagogy” (Hook, 2010). Read More